How many sticks of incense do you usually put when burning incense at home? How do you hold the incense when burning incense?

Many people choose to burn incense and worship gods at home every day, which is more convenient than going to temples to burn incense at home. So how many incense sticks do we usually burn at home? How do you hold the incense when burning it?

How many incense sticks do you usually burn at home?

When burning incense at home, three sticks are usually burned;
When burning incense at home, people usually burn three sticks. The reason is that they are offering incense to the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), which is the most lawful way. If the room where the Buddhist shrine is placed is very small, it is fine to burn one incense stick. As long as you offer it with a pious heart, one incense stick can replace three or even tens of millions of incense sticks. There is no need to be too obsessed with the number of incense sticks.

How to hold incense when burning incense

When burning incense, you should hold the incense in your left hand. When burning incense, the incense should be lit all at once. The brighter the better. After lighting the incense, if the fire is still not out, do not blow it with your mouth. Just hold it horizontally and shake it up and down. The wind will blow the incense out. When burning incense, hold the incense at the bottom with your right hand and raise it above your head to bow. After bowing, you can place the incense in your hand into the incense burner.
Cleaning of the idol and altar:
Before major festivals (preferably March 3, September 9, and before the Spring Festival), you can wash the statues of gods with clean water or wipe them slowly with a new red or yellow cloth with a respectful heart. It is best to add some fresh flowers and cinnabar to clear water. If you feel the shrine or altar needs cleaning, you can clean it before placing offerings and burning incense. After cleaning, remember to burn incense and kowtow.